Trees of Yosemite (1932, 1948) by Mary Curry Tresidder

Nuttall Dogwood

Cornus nuttallii Aud.

Nuttall Dogwood Flowers
About 1/2 Natural Size

The dogwood
derives its botanical name from the
hardness of the wood (Latin, cornu, horn), which,
however, is little used commercially. It is known as
the Nuttall, Western, Mountain, or Pacific Dogwood,
and also as the Cornel. It differs in certain respects
from the Flowering Dogwood of the Eastern states.

The origin of the name “dogwood” seems to be
shrouded in the mists of antiquity, although it is one
of the names people most often ask about—and protest
against. One writer says, “It is questionable whether
the name Dogwood was meant to convey contempt
for the tree as worthless for timber, or whether it referred
to the value of its astringent bark as a cure for
the mange in dogs.”*

The bark is smooth and grayish as a rule; only in
comparatively old trees is it broken and scaly. The
mature dogwood attains a height of twenty-five to
sixty feet, with a rather irregular crown, and a bole
from six to eighteen or twenty inches in diameter.
Young shoots often spring from the roots, making a
leafy clump.

The leaves are entire, rather ovate in shape, three to
five inches long, on a short leaf-stem. They are usually
opposite, as are the twigs themselves.

In the spring, usually in May, with the unfolding
leaves, the flower-clusters of the dogwood make a sunshine
in the shady places where it loves to grow. The
large, white, petal-like scales or bracts which surround
the head of the small flowers are usually taken for the
flower itself. The number of the bracts varies—four,
five, or six; one of the heads may measure six inches
across, from tip to tip of the bracts.

Again in the autumn the dogwood stands out
among its neighbors by reason of the brilliant coloring
of its deciduous foliage and also of the fruit—a
compact head of small scarlet berries, or drupes, each
containing a stone with one or two seeds.

It is not found in the higher mountains, but grows
in profusion on the floor of the Yosemite Valley and
for two thousand feet above it. The dogwood makes
the region of Bridalveil Falls a fairyland in spring;
the Wawona Road between Inspiration Point and
Chinquapin and the Big Oak Flat Road near the
Tuolumne Grove of Big Trees are among the places
rendered more lovely by its presence.

The Creek Dogwood, or Red-Stemmed Dogwood,
is a shrub which grows along streams and in marshy
places; its flowers are much less showy, and its smaller
and more pointed leaves turn a rich, dark red, almost
a mahogany color, in the fall.